Conflict, Conflict Prevention, Conflict Management and Beyond

[Pages:32]Conflict, Conflict Prevention, Conflict Management and Beyond:

a conceptual exploration

Niklas L.P. Swanstr?m Mikael S. Weissmann

CONCEPT PAPER Summer 2005

Conflict, Conflict Prevention and Conflict Management and beyond:

a conceptual exploration

Niklas L.P. Swanstr?m Mikael S. Weissmann

CONCEPT PAPER Summer 2005

? Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Program ? A Joint Transatlantic Research and Policy Center

Johns Hopkins University-SAIS, 1619 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20036

Uppsala University, Box 514, 75120 Uppsala, Sweden

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"Conflict, Conflict Prevention and Conflict Management and Beyond: A Conceptual Exploration" is a Concept Paper published by the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Program. The Concept Paper Series is the Joint Center's paper series addressing topics and concepts of foremost importance for understanding the dynamics of security, conflicts and development in the region.

The Central Asia-Caucasus Institute and Silk Road Studies Program constitute a single, joint Transatlantic Research and Policy Center. The Center is independent and externally funded and has offices in Washington, D.C., and Uppsala, Sweden. The Center is affiliated with the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, and the Department of East European Studies, Uppsala University. It is the first Institution of its kind in both Europe and North America, and is firmly established as a leading center for research and policy worldwide, serving a large and diverse community of analysts, scholars, policy-watchers, business leaders, journalists, and students.

The Joint Center aims to be at the forefront of research on security, conflicts and development in the region. It further aspires to function as a focal point for American and European academic and policy discussion through its applied research, publications, teaching, research network, and conference and forum activities.

? Central Asia-Caucasus Institute and Silk Road Studies Program, 2005

ISBN: 91-85473-02-2

Printed in Uppsala, Sweden

Distributed in North America by: The Central Asia-Caucasus Institute Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies 1619 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20036 Ph. +1-202-663-7723; Fax. +1-202-663-7785 E-mail: caci2@jhuadig.admin.jhu.edu

Distributed in Europe by: The Silk Road Studies Program Uppsala University Box 514, SE-75120 Uppsala Sweden Ph.. +46-18-471-7155; Fax. +46-18-106397 E-mail: info@

Editorial correspondence should be addressed to Svante E. Cornell, Research and Publications Director, at either of the addresses above.

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Table of Contents

Conflict, Conflict Prevention and Conflict Management and Beyond: A Conceptual Exploration _________________________________________________ 5

SECTION 1: DEFINITION OF CONFLICT AND THE LIFE CYCLE(S) OF A CONFLICT Conflict _______________________________________________________________ 7

Definition of conflict__________________________________________________ 7 The life cycle(s) of a conflict__________________________________________ 9

Different conflict curves _____________________________________________ 15 A development of the single conflict curve model _____________________ 15 The multi-curve model _____________________________________________ 17

SECTION 2: CONFLICT PREVENTION AND CONFLICT MANAGEMENT Conflict prevention __________________________________________________ 19 Conflict management ________________________________________________ 23

Conflict management and conflict resolution ___________________________ 25 Conflict management and conflict prevention __________________________ 26 Conflict Prevention, Management and Resolution ? the need for an integrated approach? _________________________________________________ 28 Biographical note ____________________________________________________ 30

This paper was written as part of the project "Peace and Security: Conflict Management and Conflict Prevention in Northeast Asia", funded by the Swedish Research Council (grant 2002-3126) and the

project "Conflict and Security in Asia" funded by the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

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Conflict, Conflict Prevention and Conflict Management and Beyond: a conceptual exploration1

This paper will provide an overview of the concepts conflict, conflict prevention and conflict management. It will also briefly discuss related concepts, including conflict resolution, crisis management, preventive diplomacy, and a culture of prevention. The aim of the paper is to set the stage for a discussion on how to come to terms with the lack of consensus and differences in interpretation of these concepts within the academic and policy community. 2

On a general level, conflict prevention and conflict management are broad terms for methods and mechanisms used to avoid, minimize, and manage conflicts between different parties.3 Conflict prevention is a set of instruments used to prevent or solve disputes before they have developed into active conflicts.4 Conflict management is a theoretical concept focusing on the limitation, mitigation, and/or containment of a conflict without necessary solving it. 5 Conflict resolution has traditionally referred to measures attempting to resolve the underlying

1 A draft version of this paper was written to provide a starting point for the discussions on the Silk Road Studies Program's workshop "Theory Development on Conflict Prevention and Conflict Management" organized in Uppsala April 8-9, 2005. The paper you now are reading is a somewhat altered version of the paper presented at the workshop. It should also be noted that this paper is based on, but extends beyond, Dr. Swanstr?m's dissertation Regional Cooperation and Conflict Management: Lessons from the Pacific Rim (Uppsala: Department of Peace and Conflict Research, 2002). 2 The problem of a lacking consensus was identified at the Silk Road Studies Conference on Conflict Prevention and Management in Northeast Asia held in Beijing November 26 ? 28, 2004. It was also one of the topics of discussion on the Uppsala workshop in April 2005. 3 Bruce Russett, "Preventing Violent Conflict Through the Kantian Peace", in Preventing Violent Conflicts: Past Record and Future Challenges, ed. Peter Wallensteen, Report No 48 (Uppsala: Department of Peace and Conflict Research, 1998); Michael Lund, Preventing Violent Conflicts (Washington D.C.: United States Institute of Peace Press, 1996); Niklas L.P. Swanstr?m, Regional Cooperation and Conflict Management: Lessons from the Pacific Rim (Uppsala: Department of Peace and Conflict Research, 2002); Niklas L.P. Swanstr?m "Conflict Management in Northeast Asia", Korean Journal of International Studies, Vol. 30, No. 1 (2003); Peter Wallensteen, ed., Preventing Violent Conflicts: Past Record and Future Challenges, Report No 48 (Uppsala: Department of Peace and Conflict Research, 1998). 4 Sophia Cl?ment, Conflict Prevention in the Balkans: Case Studies of the Fyr Macedonia (Alencon: Institute for Security Studies of WEU, 1997). 5 Fred Tanner, "Conflict Prevention and Conflict Resolution: Limits of Multilateralism", International Review of the Red Cross, September (2000).

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incompatibilities of a conflict, including attempts to get the parties to mutually accept each others' existence.6 It is important to note here that the traditional separation of conflict prevention, management and resolution not only treat them as different concepts, but also as separate processes. Such ideas are opposed in this paper, in which also the concepts are seen as being closely related and in many ways even inseparable. This will be elaborated upon in section two of this paper. Before that, however, the definition and dynamics of a conflict needs to be addressed. Consequently, the first section of this paper will focus on the concept of conflict and conflict cycles. After presenting a working definition of conflict, a theoretical model of the conflict lifecycle will be provided. This section also presents an extended model of the conflict lifecycle which includes both the conflict intensity level and measures to prevent, limit and resolve the conflict. This model is thereafter used to elaborate upon different forms of conflict cycles, including addressing the problem with a conflict consisting of a large number of conflictual issues, or subconflicts. In the second section focus moves from the conflict as such to the concepts of conflict prevention and conflict management. This section includes, but is not limited to, an overview of research on conflict prevention and conflict management, including related concepts such as preventive diplomacy, culture of prevention, and crisis management. Thereafter, the section moves on to explore the overlapping and integrated aspects of conflict prevention and conflict management, thereby addressing the necessity of linking the two. To the extent overlapping with the two core concepts, conflict resolution and crisis management will also be addressed in this overview.

6 Peter Wallensteen, Understanding conflict resolution: war, peace and the global system (London: Sage, 2002).

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